Cornucopia Institute Asks FTC to Investigate Dean Foods’ Omega-3 Advertising

An organization that promotes family-scale farming and organic foods has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Dean Foods, which purportedly claims that its Horizon “milk with Omega-3 DHA” products support brain and eye development in children and benefit pregnant and nursing women. In its April 21, 2011, letter, the Cornucopia Institute details the company’s allegedly false and misleading claims “targeted to pregnant women and children” and urges the agency to enjoin the company, if appropriate, to prevent further false and misleading marketing claims. According to the institute, the company is also promoting its Horizon milk as “natural nourishment . . . without the additives you’d rather avoid,” despite using a DHA oil that is “an extract from mutated and fermented algae that have never been part of the human diet.”

The letter notes that in 2004 FTC questioned whether the company that makes the DHA supplements added to Dean Foods’ milk had sufficient evidence to back its improved brain function claims. It also discusses other recent actions FTC has taken against companies making brain function claims for foods. The Cornucopia Institute seeks an investigation of the pediatrician who allegedly endorses Dean Foods’ milk in online videos; according to the letter, he “gives consumers a false and misleading sense that the DHA oil has been medically proven to benefit health.” The bulk of the letter focuses on the studies that Dean Foods has apparently cited to support its claims, criticizing them and pointing to other research reaching opposite conclusions. The institute also discusses research showing that adverse reactions have been linked to DHA algal oil, including nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, and jaundice. The letter concludes with a call for “immediate and effective action.”